


A Well Earned Lie-In

by serenbach



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-17 10:23:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11849601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/serenbach/pseuds/serenbach
Summary: After the Archon's defeat, Sara is exhausted and emotional after the months of stress and hurt come crashing down on her.Luckily Jaal is there to take care of her.And Sara feels like she has more than earned a luxurious lie-in with her boyfriend.





	A Well Earned Lie-In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sumi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sumi/gifts).



The first thing that Sara did as soon as she had a moment alone after defeating the Archon was slump down in a chair by her brother’s bedside, put her hand in her hands, and cry.

She wasn’t even sure why she was crying. After all, they had won. They had defeated the Archon with minimum casualties, and they had a true golden world to start building on.

Scott might be asleep, _again,_ but he was alive, even if the bruises on his face were worse than the ones under his eyes and made her heart ache with regret for all that he had been through. She had been reassured by Lexi that he would make a full recovery, and that there was truly no reason for her to be sitting by his bedside weeping, but she couldn't stop.

She had been so afraid, and so stressed, and in such pain, and now it was over and she couldn’t seem to stop the tears from falling and she wasn’t sure why.

She heard the door open and close, but she didn’t look up. She was familiar with the noise of Jaal’s footsteps now, the sound of his _rofjinn_ swishing against his biosuit, and knew that she was safe, that she didn’t need to pretend not to be crying or put on her Pathfinder face.

“Darling One,” he murmured, his hand on her shoulder, thumb stroking the side of her neck.

She just hiccupped in response.

He carefully lifted her up and adjusted them until he was sat down and she was in his lap, and just held her while she cried, his hand rubbing up and down her back, and little by little, her sobs faded. She sat with her forehead pressed to his shoulder for a long time, feeling drained but lighter, like some sort of poison had been drawn from her body.

She didn’t realise she was dozing off until Jaal roused her.    

“You would sleep easier in your own bed,” he rumbled, his voice soft and soothing in her ears as he coaxed her too her feet.

“Yeah,” she yawned and nodded in agreement. She staggered over to the bed, her legs barely moving under their own power, and dropped a clumsy kiss to Scott’s forehead.

“Don’t go anywhere, okay?” Sara asked his slumbering form, and leant heavily into Jaal as he led her back to the _Tempest._ She was aching with exhaustion. 

She was stumbling in her half-asleep state and under the weight of the armour she was still wearing, and Jaal took her guns from her since they were weighing her down. She was sure a few people tried to speak to her as they walked, but she just turned her head further into Jaal’s side and let him make the excuses for the both of them.

When they reached the _Tempest,_ she was momentarily alarmed to find it deserted.

“Don’t worry,” Jaal assured her when he noticed her expression. “All is well. Everyone is out celebrating.”

“And you’re stuck here with me,” Sara realised with a tired little laugh. “You can join them if …”

Jaal cut her off with a kiss to the top of her head. “I’m right where I want to be,” he assured her, and she raised no more protest when he carefully helped her to remove her armour and put it back in her locker with her weapons and guided her down the ladder to the shower.

He peeled off her undersuit, which was damp and disgusting with sweat, his fingers tracing the indents of the skin where her armour had pressed into curiously. Underneath her exhaustion, Sara resolved for the two of them to spend more time together naked. They’d had barely any time for each other since Aya, and when they had been together since it had been frantic and hurried, no time for leisurely exploration of each other’s bodies. 

She was far too tired to even think about rectifying that fact at the moment, sadly.

Jaal removed his own clothes to join her under the spray of the water, picking up the shampoo bottle and squirting it directly on her head, probably using far too much of it, but the feeling of his dexterous fingers massaging her scalp meant that she couldn’t care less.

She was more slumped against him than standing up when he shut off the water and wrapped her up in her towel, and she only realised that he was carrying her to her bedroom when she felt that they were moving, since her eyes had apparently been firmly closed for some time.

She wriggled into the pyjamas he handed her, and leaned back against him when he picked up her hairbrush and started easing it through the damp tangle of her hair, the way he’d watched her do it so many times before, like it was something enthralling.

The last thing that Sara remembered before sleep took her was Jaal’s lips against her cheek, and a softly murmured “good night, Darling One,” against her ear.

\---

When Sara awoke the next morning, she was clinging to Jaal’s muscular back like some sort of tiny backpack, and she felt, for the first time since waking up in the Cryo Bay, truly well-rested.

She gently squeezed Jaal’s hand where it was clasped in hers against his stomach, not wanting to wake him, before murmuring, “SAM?”

The relief that flooded through her when his familiar voice answered “yes, Sara?” was overwhelming.

“I missed you, buddy,” she told him, still feeling a bit shaky.

His voice was as warm as it had ever been when he replied, “and I you.”

“Is Scott doing okay? And the crew?”

“Scott woke briefly and has had something to eat before falling asleep again,” SAM reported, “and the crew has returned to the ship, though some are-” he paused for a moment.

“Hungover?” Sara guessed.

“Affirmative. Director Tann has also asked for you to attend a meeting as soon as you are awake.”

Sara pulled a face. “Is there any way you could maybe _not_ inform him that I’m awake?”

SAM’s reply was immediate. “Of course, Sara. Enjoy your… lie-in.”

“Was that _innuendo_?” Sara asked him, impressed, before her attention was drawn by Jaal stirring next to her.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she said brightly as he rolled over to face her, eyes opening sleepily.

Jaal had beautiful eyes; looking into them was as endlessly fascinating as staring at the Galaxy Map. They were the first thing she’d noticed about him, back when he was still just an angry stranger who had laughed at one of her jokes despite himself, and she loved them more now, especially when they were crinkled up with sleepy affection first thing in the morning.

He smiled at her. “How are you this morning?” he asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

She reached out to stroke his cheek, brushing her thumb over his lips. “Much better,” she assured him. “I don’t know why I broke down like I did.”

Jaal turned his head, pressing a kiss into her palm, the bioelectricity making her skin prickle. “It’s been a difficult few months, with a lot relying on you,” he answered, “and your brother being so suddenly in danger, it’s not surprising that it all affected you like that.”

“SAM said Scott’s doing much better,” Sara told him as he shifted closer to her on the bed and pulled her into a hug.

“Good!” Jaal exclaimed, and she could feel his genuine gladness. “We’ll have to take him to meet my mothers soon.”

“I’d like that.” She leaned forwards and smooched him on the nose. “Thank you.”

Jaal smiled at her. “What for?”

“Just for everything,” she answered. “For being there for me.”

“I’ll always be there for you,” he answered seriously, bringing her hand to his mouth and kissing it again.

 “Speaking of that,” she started. She’d meant to ask him before now but there had never quite been the time. “I wanted to ask you, uh, how do you feel about moving in here with me?”

Jaal’s eyes widened and he didn’t answer.

“I mean, you can still have your own space on the ship, whatever you like, but it would be nice waking up to you every morning and…”

Jaal lurched forward and kissed her desperately.

“I take it that’s a yes?” she asked as his hands went to her hips and started slipping up under her pyjama top. She lifted her arms to make it easier for him.

He murmured his agreement against her mouth, and his sure hands sliding up her body while his skilled mouth started travelling down meant that, for a while, there was no more conversation between them aside from hushed gasps and murmured endearments.

Later, when she was lying in a sweaty, panting puddle, she gasped out, “you’ve been reading those articles Lexi sent you again, haven’t you?”

She could feel it when Jaal chuckled from where he lay sprawled next to her.

He’d confessed that he’d gone to Lexi for advice before their first time, but she had already suspected that that was the case. Their first time was a bit clumsy and awkward, as all first times were, but nothing compared to, say, the first time she’d kissed her drell girlfriend and ended up seeing stars (literally, she’d thought that they were crawling through the ceiling to get to her) or the time the nice turian boy she’d been dating left her chafed in some delicate places. Jaal had clearly known what to expect when she'd shucked her clothes that day, whereas he had been something of a revelation to her.

Now that she potentially had more spare time on her hands, Sara was resolved to try and get hold of some angaran articles at some point.   

“Do you have any meetings to go today?” Jaal asked after he'd caught his breath, tilting his head to look at her, tangling their fingers back together. His expression made the everyday question a sweet one.

“I do want to check on Scott,” she told him. “And Tann wants to see me at some point, but he doesn’t know I’m awake yet. Have you got something else in mind?”

Jaal grinned. “I was hoping to take another shower with you.”

Sara laughed, pushing herself up and stretching. “I feel that I’ve definitely deserve another lie-in!”

**Author's Note:**

> I loved all your prompts, Sumi, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
